Fastener-applying machine.



A. C. TOTZKE. FASTENER APPLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29. ms.

Patented Mar. 5, 191&

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. C. TOTZKE.

FASTENER APPLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED :uur 29. me.

Patel Ital 5,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. I

ALBERT G. TOTZKE, OF ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN.

FASTEN-ER-APPLYING MACHINE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1918.

Application filed July 29, 1916. Serial No. 111,989.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT O. ToTzKE, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of St. Joseph, Berrien county, Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fastener-Applying Machines, of which the following is aspect fication; V

My'invention contemplates a machine for use in fastening grapevines to the heavy wires which are strung on posts and ordinarily employed in vineyards for supporting the vines.

Theobject of my invention is, therefore, to materially reduce the amount of time and labor necessary to fasten the vines to the wires or other supports.

To this and other useful ends, my invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine for'use in fastening grapevines to the wires which are supported on posts, said machine embodying the principles of my invention.

' Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of said machine.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of said machine. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4- in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the device for feeding the wire from which the staples are made.

-Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the parts in the positions which they occupy at the moment the short length of-wire is clenched around the-grapevine and'the heavy wire which forms the support.

"Fig.7 is a vertical section on line 77' in Fig. 3'.

""F-ig'. Sosa perspective of a length of grapevine and the heavy wire to which the same is attached, showing th reeof the staples which have 'been'driven and clenched around the vine and heavy wire.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged cross-section of the vine and the heavy wire forming a support therefor, showing'the manner in which the bar. B and belt C) prevents themachine ward. To produce the correct feedin from tilting sidewise. The body A has a removable side-plate D, and inside of said body a staple-driver E is arranged to reciprocate back and forth, in the manner of an ordinary stapling machine. This driver has its forward end-portion 6 arranged to reciprocate between the two prongs or sideportions 1 of the staple-former F, which latter is connected by a rod 7 with-the block 2 carried by the rear end-portion of the staple-driver. A compression-spring 3 is applied to said rod 7, and the said driver. is provided with ratchet-teeth 4: which engage the teeth of the segment 5, the latter being journaled on the body at 6 and provided with a crank'handle G, which extends downwardly when the device is in use and by whichthe said driver E can be reciprocated back and forth by operating said handle. The front end of the body A is provided with a transverse slot or notch H to receive the-grapevine 7 and the heavy wire 8 to which the vine is to be secured. The closed end of this slot forms a stop to hold the vine and support in alinement with the mechanism, so that the staple will be driven accurately and not at one side of said vine. Opposite to said driver-portion e is an anvil or clench-block it against which the heavy wire and the grapevine are held during the operation of fastening them together. The pivoted latch I is carried by the rear portion of the driver E and is controlled by a spring 71 to cause it to engage the corner 9 of the staple-former F, so that the driver and former are locked together during-the first part of the forward movement of the driver. As soon as the cam-portion 10 of said latch strikes the stationary cam 11, the staple-former Fis then unlocked from the staple-driver E, and the staple-driver then moves forward alone. The wire 12-;is fed through a tube J across the path of the. staple-former portions 1, by theg:feed-rolls.j, which latter are actuated by-the dogK which engagesthe'ratchet-wheel 13 on the axis of one of said rolls, preferably the larger. one, so that the wire is fedinto position when the staple dri-ver E; moves backaction; the dog K lSiPIOYldBd with a s ot k for the pin '14- on. the block 2, whereby the initial forward movement-of the driver E does not-produce any movement of this dog; but the latter hasffreshtooth-engagement 'with the ratchetewheel before the stapledriver completes its forward stroke, so that when the staple-driver moves backward its final movement in this direction is accompanied by the actuation of the feed-rolls to feeda length of Wire into position for the nextstaple. It will be understood, however, that the devices for feeding the staple-wire may be of any suitable known or approved character.

As stated, the machine is strapped around the waist of the operator, with the handle G- downward, as shown in Fig. 1, and this handlev is operated by the right hand While the left hand is used for guiding the grapevine and heavy wire through the slot H, in a manner that will be readily understood. When the handle is pulled backward, the staplesdriver and stapleformer move forward, causing the bifurcated end of the staple-former to cut off a length of the wire 12. The wire feeds through the slot 15 of the loopvbar 16, which latter is movably mounted on the plate D by means of a sprin 17, attached thereto at its rear end, where y said loopbar may move outwardly in the manner shown in Fig. 6, when the staplerdriver portion 6 is thrust against the bevel 18 of said loop-bar. The forward motionof the staple-former F causes the prongs 1 to cooperate with the loop-bar 16 which they then embrace to bend the cut-off piece of wire into the form of a staple, and this staple is then caused to straddle the grapevine 7 and the heavy wire 8, and the ends of the staple are then bent toward each other and clenched around the grapevine and heavy wire, by the anvil h, which is suitably shaped for this purpose, in the manner shown in Figs. 6, 8 and 9, so that the staple is converted into a ring which encircles the grapevine and the heavy wire by which it is en ported. When the handle G is then pushe I forward, the staple-forming mechanism is returned to normal position, as shown in Fig.3, and at this time a fresh length of wire 12 is, fed into position for the next staple. Thus the operator works the machine with one handfiand manipulates the grapevine with the other.

It will be seen, therefore, that by my invention I provide a machine which will do the work heretofore ordinarily done by hand. Usually, the grapevines are tied to the heavy trellis-wires by twine. or other flexible means, and the work is slow and somewhat laborious. Furthermore, the twine becomes weakened by the weather and falls oil and allows the grapevine to become loose. By means of my invention, however, it ispossible to secure the vinesin place by galvanized or copper or other suitable wirewliich will lastfor a considerable length ofytime. In addition, the. time and are materially reduced The slot H formed in the head of the machine is closed at its upper end, so that a shoulder 19 (formed by the edge of the plate D) is provided which can rest on the heavy wire 8 between operations, and while the staple is being driven and clenched, or while the operator slides the machine along the said wire to apply successive fasteners to the vine. Thus the shoulder 19 forms a gage to accurately position the wire and vine in the slot, this shoulder being at one side (see Figs. 2 and 3) of the center of the clench-block h, and the lo wer edge of the shoulder accurately limitin the upward insertion of the wire and vine in the slot, so that the staples will be properly driven. But the bottom of this slot is open to receive the vine and the wire 8, or other support, by lateral insertion (insertion by relative movement whichis in a direction transverse of the vine and support when held parallel, or substantially parallel, and also transverse of the machine) of the'vineand support in the open end of the slot, in a manner that will be readily understood.

I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown and described.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A portable machine adapted to be inanipulated as a tool for fastening vines to supports, comprising. a head provided with meansfor receiving and holding in place the vine and the support to which it is to lee-secured, and mechanism cooperating-with said means for bending and then clenching the ends of a length of wire around the vine and support, said meansconsisting of a vertical slot which is open at its lower end to receive the vine and support, said mechanism including a staple-former and driver at one side of said slot and a fixed anvil at the other side thereof to engage and bend the ends of the staple around the vine and support, the upper end of said slot being closed to rest on said support.

2. A portable machine adapted to be inanipulated as a tool for fastening vines to supports, comprising a head provided with means for receiving and holding ,inplace the vine and the supportto which it isto be secured, by lateral insertion of both the vine and the support in said head, and mechanism cooperating with said means for bending and then clenchingthe ends of a length of wire 7 toward each other and around the vineandsupport, said means having a stationary anvil a ainst which the ends ofthe wire in staple. orm are driven by said mechanism, sothat the vine and support are heldi-n engagement by the same encircling portion of wire.

3; A portablema'chine adapted tobe manipulatedas a tool for fastening vines to supportscomprising a head proividedwith means for? .reoervln'g and holding in: place the vine and the support to which it is to be secured, and mechanism cooperating with said means for bending and then clenching the ends of a length of wire around the vine and support, said means consisting of a transverse slot which is open at its outer end to receive the vine and support, said mechanism including a staple-former and driver at one side of said slot and a fixed anvil at the other side thereof to engage and bend the ends of the staple around the vine and support, the inner end of said slot being closed to limit the lateral insertion therein of said vine and support.

4:. The said machine, as stated in claim 2, in which said means include a shoulder to Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the rest the machine on said support during the operation.

5. The said machine, as stated in claim 3, in which the closed end of said slot forms a shoulder to rest the machine on said support during the operation.

6. The said machine, as stated in claim 3, in which means are provided to automatically feed wire parallel-with said slot to said mechanism, the staple-former being disposed in the plane of said slot.

Signed by me at St. Joseph, Mich, this 22d day of July, 1916.

ALBERT o. TOTZKE.

Commissioner 01 Iatents,

Washington, D, G. 

